Hertfordshire residents asked to identify recovered stolen property

Burglary victims in south west Hertfordshire can now peruse hundreds of items online, which have been seized from criminals, to see if they can reclaim stolen property.

A diamond-encrusted watch, sunglasses, disco lights and a silver statue of an elephant are among the scores of items recovered in anti-burglary operations over the last two and a half years.

The property has been seized by the Metropolitan Police in London. However the force said it had strong intelligence indicating a number of the items have come from homes burgled in Hertfordshire.

Detective Sergeant Lesley Shearer said: "Some of the items are clearly of monetary value and of course many of them will be of sentimental value.

"For example, there is a particularly beautiful necklace with ‘Eva’ written in an elaborate script and a locket with a handwritten inscription reading ‘To Jean with love Fiona, Aileen and Ron’.

"We know from our inquiries so far that it is highly likely that many of the items were taken in burglaries in Hertfordshire and it is my aim to return as many items of property as possible to their rightful owners.

"I am asking any burglary victims who have had items stolen in the last couple of years to take 15 minutes to look at the images on the website or at enquiry desks to help with this investigation."

Pictures of the items have been uploaded to the photo sharing website Flickr as part of Operation Gemini.

Burglary victims who recognise their property can contact Hertfordshire Constabulary with the reference number for the items. Officers will then make inquiries to verify that the claim is genuine.

Residents can also view hard copies of the images at the enquiry desk at Watford Police Station.

Victims who do recognise any items should contact DS Shearer with the relevant image reference number either by emailing her at opgemini@herts.pnn.police.uk or writing to her at Op Gemini, Hatfield Police Station, Comet Way, Hatfield, AL10 9SJ.

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